By the General Grand Chapter Order of the Eastern Starand the Holy Bible
So much can be learned about a person from looking at their
bookshelves, even long after they are gone.
These books belonged to my Aunt Birdie, otherwise known as Madeleine
Park. Until I saw them recently, I had
no idea she was, at one time in her life, a member of the Order of the Eastern
Star. Inside the cover, in her own
handwriting, are a few notes about the Order and a listing of names and
addresses of officers of the local chapter.
Under her name, she also wrote in her telephone number, 3073-J.
Mystery has always surrounded the Order of the Eastern
Star. Their rituals and beliefs are seen
as secretive and controversial to some faiths.
The Order describes itself as a social fraternity of people
with deep spiritual convictions, open to all faiths except no faith. They describe their rituals as
character-building and beautiful.
Handwritten on a small piece of graph paper found inside one
of the books, I found this Closing Ode.
If I
have wounded any soul today
If I
have caused one foot to go astray
If I
have walked in my own willful way
Dear
Lord, forgive.
Regardless of feelings about the Order, these are words of wisdom that I would like to live by.
No comments:
Post a Comment